Nature's Loopholes
by BonkaiCoven
Summary: A series of murders in Mystic Falls reveal a hidden, dark agenda as Bonnie Bennett tries to juggle her newfound role as town witch detective, her relationship with one incredibly egotistical siphon-witch and her impeding pregnancy. AU with only slight divergences from canon. Bonkai. Rated M for later chapters
1. The Beginning

**Alrighty, just a small author's note to clear up a few things:**

 **1). This story takes place a year and a half after 6x17.**

 **2). Everything up till that point sticks to canon. Can't guarantee anything after that.**

 **3). So. Kai was not left behind in the 1903 prison world, redemption arc DOES happen. More elaboration on that will come later in the story.**

 **4). Bonkai happens. Again, more elaboration on how their relationship came to be will be explained later in the story through flashbacks.**

 **5). Everything else, like the Steroline relationship, and Delena are the same. Except for a certain character, he's new (you'll know him when you see him).**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

"Abby, I mean, Mom… I'm pregnant"

Bonnie stares at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

 _Okay, you can do this_ , she drills herself for the 1765th time. _Go_.

"Mom…" She tries placing less emphasis on the 'pregnant' as if that would be diversion enough. "I am, pregnant."

 _No, duh?_

Okay, this wasn't exactly going how she wanted it to go. Whoever said that self-coaching speeches were a good idea was a terrible liar (sigh, _Caroline_ ). They also probably never had to break surprise baby news to their estranged vampire witch-mom.

The pregnancy test with its blue strip was next to the Softsoap dispenser on the sink counter. She eyes it warily, thinking that another test wouldn't really hurt. But then again, it would be the 7th try. (and they say 3rd time's a charm, right?)

Bonnie sighs and takes a long look in the mirror. _What am I doing?_ Realizing that now might not be the best time to start having a quarter-life crisis, she repeats the basics:Bonnie Bennett, town witch, 22 going on 23, possibly 14 weeks pregnant, desperately in need of a shower and definitely sleep deprived. _As if the faded circles under her eyes weren't indicative enough._

"Bonnie!" comes Caroline's insistent, shrill voice from downstairs. Her footsteps are heard coming up the stairway.

"Crap," Bonnie grabs the test, not knowing what to do. Trash? Too risky. Flush down the toilet? Possible blockage and...gross.

"Bonnie Bennett, why are you taking so long?" Caroline asks from the other side of the door.

"I'll be right out!"

She quickly whispers an "i _nvisigue obiectum_ " charm.

"Bonnie, we're-" Caroline opens the door. "Oh sorry I didn't think the door was unlocked… What were you doing? And why are your hands.."

"Wha-? Oh, it's nothing." She discreetly drops the invisible test on to the floor, careful to make it land on the bath rug. Rubbing both hands on the side of her jeans, she manages her perkiest smile.

"All set to go?"

Caroline looks at her quizzically, obviously not buying the "I am so not lying" act but decides to go along with it for now.

"Come on, Matt's already outside" she grabs her hand and drags her out of the bathroom. "And next time, don't take an hour in the bathroom".

Bonnie quickly glances behind her, eyeing the invisible test left abandoned on the bathroom floor. _I'll deal with you later._

* * *

The gang pulls up in front of the Mystic Grill. Instead of its usual hustle and bustle, it's completely deserted and sealed off with yellow crime-scene tape. Caroline, Tyler and Bonnie hop out of Matt's patrol car and make their way to the entrance while he parks.

Sheriff Gaines waves to them from the entrance, motioning for them to come over.

He claps Tyler on the shoulder and tersely shakes hands with the two girls.

"I'm glad you all came in. It's been a difficult morning." He nods to Matt as he approaches.

They follow him into the bar and he directs them to the five bodies lying in a pool of thick, dark blood. One is hanging from the ceiling fan and another is propped up on the bar, head missing. The rest are splayed across the floor in various, gruesome angles.

"Oh god.." Caroline whispers.

Matt and Tyler exchange grim looks.

Bonnie claps a hand over her mouth, feeling a strong wave of nausea crashing in.

"We were notified around seven this morning by Jake, the new bartender. He discovered their bodies when he came in for work. Poor fellah. He won't be having any decent sleep anytime soon."

"How is he?" Matt asks.

Sheriff Gaines rubs his stubble. "He'll be fine...just not for now. Wouldn't be surprised if he decides to take a break for while".

Matt shakes his head, obviously not happy about Jake's involvement.

Him and Tyler quietly discuss details of the case with the Sheriff.

Caroline tiptoes around the blood puddle, carefully crouching down to examine the bodies. It was a good thing she'd had a two blood baggies in the morning, 'cause this… was _a lot_ of blood.

Bonnie contemplates stepping out for fresh air, but decides against it.

If anything, the person they really needed was her. More like her powers, but still.

Bracing herself, she walks up to the body at the bar.

 _Head missing, again_. This was a recurring theme in the slew of dead bodies showing up in Mystic Falls for the past four months or so. There was never really a decent connection they could make between the murders...except for the fact that they were all brutal homicides, no foul play involved and no animal bites. The last part ruled out vampires, a surprising feat for the mystical town.

"Something's not right," says Caroline.

They all turn to look at the blonde vampire as she analyzes the bodies on the ground, hands on hips.

"There's something deliberately...deliberate about the way these three are all just lying in this heap while one's up here" she looks at the body hanging from the fan. "and the other there" she points at the bar.

"You mean to say that they were trying to give us a message? A warning of some sorts?" Gaines asks.

"Yes and no," Caroline responds. "I just...god, I don't know...this is all just too weird." And by weird, she meant non-magical but still utterly horrifying. "This is like what, the 3rd homicide in the same series of murders that's been happening for half a year now? We don't even know if they're connected".

Bonnie processes Caroline's insight and turns to look at the headless body again. Where was the head anyway?

"Sheriff, do you have the head stored somewhere or…"

"Actually, no. We haven't been able to locate it just yet. Wasn't at the crime scene".

Tyler pipes in "Wait, it's missing? Why would someone want to keep a severed head?"

Gaines sighs. "I don't know what to tell you...we're still doing a full ground search of the town, and no one's been able to find so much as a finger".

Bonnie nods and tries to recall the first murder case that had happened mid-July, about three months ago.

It had been a stormy weekend, and most of the townspeople were still away on summer vacation, leaving the town deserted and quiet. Her and Kai had just come back from visiting Jo and her family in Oregon. The weather and the delay at the airport made it so that they were completely jetlagged by the time they were in Mystic Falls, even though it was a three-day trip and the flight was only an hour long. The bickering over who got to drive hadn't helped either. Technically, it was _her car_ but Kai being Kai, had thrown a hissy fit and insisted that she let him drive. The whole thing turned into one of their intense stare-downs ( _she lost_ ) and the next thing they knew, they were in the car, rain-drenched clothes being torn off and lips-

"Bonnie, focus" she mutters, mentally slapping herself.

 _Anyway._ After their little showdown in the car, they'd driven to Bonnie's house and crashed. The next morning, she'd gotten a call from Matt about the three bodies found just outside the Mystic Falls border...the same border that they'd drove past just a couple of hours ago and seen nothing.

She'd met up with Matt and Caroline for breakfast and they'd done some damage control for the people involved, helping in search parties and doing some forensic work.

Ever since the trio helped take care of a few rogue werewolf cases earlier in the year, they'd unknowingly become the town's own version of the Ghostbusters. Matt had already taken his place within the force, Caroline wanted to pay homage to her mother while focusing on her degree and Bonnie...well, she had reasons of her own. Tyler and Liv moved back after realizing that life in Portland wasn't as hyped up as they expected it to be. He proved to be a much needed addition to the group.

With Elena and Damon human again and enjoying married life in New York and Stefan away at grad school in L.A, it was basically just the three of them left in Mystic Falls. Everyone else had moved away after the takedown of the Heretics last year. Stefan visited often, mostly to check up on his girlfriend while she finished up her double-degree at Whitmore. Things had been on the down-low for nearly half a year, a few rogue werewolf cases popping up here and there...until that one stormy weekend in July.

The first three bodies found outside the border were also heavily maimed, and one body was found headless. Unlike this one, the head had been found a small distance away from the scene. The decapitation or brutality wasn't what shocked the trio the most, though. While doing some in-depth and unauthorized "forensic work" of their own, they'd found out that none of the deaths involved a magical being. No vampire or werewolf bites, no witch-induced trauma. Bonnie, channeling her newfound 'third eye' powers (courtesy of Kai Parker, thankyouverymuch) had confirmed that there was no magical foul play involved. The second set of deaths that followed, four to be exact, had happened in the same serial-killer fashion.

It was both reassuring and deeply unsettling at the same time.

Caroline makes her way to Bonnie and whispers, "Did you find anything yet?"

"No...it's the same as before, I think"

Matt, Tyler and the Sheriff are already making their outside, about to do a round check of the premises.

"Okay, they're gonna keep him occupied for while, you wanna do this?"

Bonnie nods, closes her eyes and touches a hand to the headless man's bicep. She inhales deeply, and channels the dead man's body.

"Ostende mihi vita mors...ostende mihi...vita mors.."

Her surroundings wash away and she starts to hear the familiar _thump, thump, thump_ of her own heart as it assumes the identity of the man who was alive 6 hours ago. She sees faces, some familiar and some not completely visible. She sees a tall, blonde woman approaching, her face an indistinct blur but she immediately recognizes her as the body that was now hanging from the ceiling. She tries to concentrate more on her (his) body, checking for any emotions that indicate any fear or anxiety. All she gets is a lingering sense of contentment and some hunger (on his part). For a while, that's all she feels. _Okay, so he has no idea that he's gonna die soon_.

Suddenly, she starts to feel it, an increase in his heart palpitations. They begin without probable cause and her vision completely blacks out this time. She feels his body shaking. There's pain, a lot of it, when a blunt weapon is wedged into his neck and dragged across. It happens again..and again..and again. His head is quite literally being hacked off.

 _Why can't I see anything?_

She tries not to focus on the pain too much, trying to concentrate on regaining his vision instead. All she needed was a glimpse. The two headless men from before still had their vision up to a certain point, but their heads were quickly lopped off and tossed aside before she could identify anyone.

She tries harder, putting all her concentration to it. _Come on Bonnie. The killer's right in front of you, there's no way he's blind and there's still some life left in him. Try harder._

Then it happens.

It hits her like a brick over the head.

 _Oh my god._

For a while she can't comprehend what she's seeing...or not seeing. This person, or thing, was using magic to keep his(her) eyes from seeing. They were doing this on purpose. _They were cloaking her._

She drops out of the spell when Caroline grabs her shoulders and yells at her to stop.

"Bonnie, stop! You're bleeding!"

Caroline catches her just in time, as her knees buckle and give away. She holds her in her arms, sweeping back her hair and coaxing her to open her eyes.

"Oh my god..Bonnie? Bonnie, please, what's happening, open your eyes! Bonnie!"

Bonnie nearly chokes on her own voice as she jolts up from Caroline's arms and looks around aimlessly. "No...no, no, no…"

"Bonnie, what is it? What did you see?"

"THEY KNEW!" she screams. "They...they're doing this on purpose. They knew I would be able to see. All this time they've been taunting us, taunting me…" she hugs her arms. "They're doing this to me. All these people...they're not a part of any of it…"

Caroline looks at her in complete dismay, not knowing what to make of her words. All she can do is hold her friend close as she bleeds and breaks down, crushed by the weight of her own discovery. Bonnie clutches her abdomen and gives a despairing sob.

Caroline fishes out her cellphone, fumbling around for the contact she needed. "Kai" flashes on screen, and she picks up.

"Oh wow, normally I wouldn't say this but _great_ timing. You need to get your butt over here right now."

"Is she okay?" his voice has a hard edge to it.

"She's...terrible, actually. Wait, how did you know-"

"I'm already on the way. Just try to get the bleeding under control"

He hangs up.

The blonde vampire rushes her friend to the nearest armchair, propping her up on some pillows, grabbing some tissues and holding it to her nostrils to block the blood flow. Bonnie's eyes look hazy.

"Hey...hey," Caroline gently wipes the sweat and tears away. "You're not passing out on me"

Bonnie looks at her friend through bloodshot eyes. "Did you call Kai?"

"Um...yes and no. Your boyfriend freaks me out by the way, in more ways than one. He already knew something was up before I even got a chance to say anything"

"Sounds like him" Bonnie whispers.

Caroline sighs and gives her a tight hug. She still dislikes Kai for what he is, but she's glad (and part relieved) that Bonnie has him…'cause she doesn't how to handle this. Stuff like these went beyond her league, and all she could do was offer her support.

"He's on his way".

"Caroline...please do me a favor?" Bonnie asks.

"Anything, what is it?"

"I need some of your blood"

Caroline looks at her in bewilderment and suddenly smacks her forehead.

"Of course...you need it to heal. God, I'm so stupid I should've already been doing that by now." She bites her wrist and holds it out. "Kai's going to skewer me."

Bonnie smiles faintly, and drinks.

 _This will do for now_ , she thinks. _I'm not going to be able to avoid him for much longer, not with what just happened here. The magic of Caroline's vampire blood will overshadow it...it'll buy me some time to tell Abby, and figure out what to do._

 _He can't know just yet._

* * *

 **Okay I'll admit that that was a pretty cryptic ending, but I promise, it'll make sense soon.** **This is going to be a LONG FIC so, information will reveal itself in bits and pieces, and f** **or those of you who follow me on Tumblr, you'll know that this is an origin story to the Bonkai child I created, Celia Bennett Parker. There's still a long way before she shows up, but the journey will be an interesting one.**

 **And yes, this will mainly be a Bonkai story however, other characters will play major roles along the way and their involvement will add much more depth to the story.**

 **Please review, your feedback makes my day.**


	2. When It Comes To You

**Author's note**

 **Thank you guys so much for your feedback and support on the first chapter, knowing you guys are interested in seeing how this story develops helps me write a ton.**

 **Some of you asked who the new character was, it's Sheriff Gaines! Honestly he's such a sweetheart, you'll see more of him in the future. It broke my heart to see Sheriff Forbes go in Season 6, and I really missed her presence on the show SO, Gaines is kinda like an homage to her character.**

 **The basic format for this story will be a flashback scene followed by a continuation of the story in current time.**

 **I like to work with italics (maybe a little _too much_ ) in expressing inner voices, or accentuating certain parts of the story so I apologize if it gets confusing at times. **

**Happy reading.**

* * *

Kai watches as his blood slowly drips onto her palm. The red contrasts against her pale but normally brown skin, illuminating the veins leading up to her wrist. The sudden urge to grab her hand and give it a small bite comes waltzing into his head.

 _Well there goes your attempt at reconciliation._

Shaking away the mildly psychotic thought, he observes the intricate lines of her palm instead. He notes how deeply etched and prominent her heart and life lines seem to be.

 _They almost resemble battle scars_ , he thinks.

 _Huh._

If memory served right, he'd done a bit of reading on palmistry back in '92, in one of the old Divination archives.

He racks his brain trying to remember parts of it, but it doesn't come easily.

 _Tea leaves, palmistry and all that voodoo jazz had been Jo and Hannah's thing._ _Who'd have guessed that there'd be a worthwhile pastime to make of it in the future?_

Then he remembers.

 _Yes, a deep life line with a graceful but forked curve indicates a strong will for life but speaks of unexpected change, possible tragedy. And..._

He frowns, trying to get a closer at the heart line.

 _A clear and deep heart line signifies a sincere heart, an individual who gives their all in matters of love_.

 _Interesting._

Suddenly, palmistry doesn't seem like such a bad area to rework after all.

"You have really nice palms"

Bonnie glares at him, unimpressed.

 _Nice work Casanova._

She begins the spell.

"Phasmatos tribum nas ex veras…"

Withering a little under her icy glare, he starts to question his ability at reconciliation. In his defense, he'd never attempted it with anyone, and this was his one chance to make things right again, to salvage whatever was left of their relationship...if there was even one to begin with.

 _No pressure at all and yes, I'd like to think so._

 _But Bonnie...she's changed._

He felt it when their hands touched during the spell.

Just being within close proximity to her, he's able to tell that her soul is brimming, no, _pulsating_ with power, fueled by a rage that'd been built over the years.

She could pinpoint it all on him but he knew better. Her anger wasn't something that just manifested itself by spending a few days being stabbed, shot, strangled, drugged and betrayed by him.

 _Well when you put it like that, maybe a good 60% of it could be on me._

But that didn't change the fact that it'd already been there for a long time. He just happened to be the last domino that knocked everything over and he was well acquainted with her current state.

It was a familiar feeling.

Back when his family had banished him to the 1994 prison world, rage was all he could fathom within himself. Without magic, he could only break things...and break things, he did. He'd spent days going through houses...department stores...buildings... ripping, tearing and crushing everything in sight before setting it all on fire. There was only so much he could destroy before it stopped having its therapeutic effect and he was forced to find an alternative. When he realized that nothing could be as fun anymore, all he'd wanted to do was rip his insides out. He did, many many times. The first 57 times helped, and afterwards he experimented in numerous creative ways until everything flatlined and he stopped trying.

It wasn't until a certain duo came to join him that the feeling slowly started to creep its way back in.

 _Happy days._

Bonnie's rage was different from his, though.

It was a slow, simmering heat that boiled below the surface.

Despite everything he'd pulled, she'd made no attempts to fatally maim him (so far) and for that, she deserved all the credit.

If the roles had been reversed, she'd already be in a bloody, heaping mess.

But then again...maybe he'd spoken too soon. They weren't _too_ different in their sense of revenge, so he needed to change her mind _stat._ Or he wouldn't be making it back today, at least not in one full piece.

"Do you know why I'm here?"

She continues the spell, eyes closed.

"Because my guilt keeps me up at night." He'd meant to say more.

 _This feeling...I can't shake it, I can't sleep._ _I wish I could show you how it feels like, but I can't._

The words don't come.

 _When I left you behind in 1994, I did it cause I knew you'd come back. You were never going to let me out if we went together.  
_

 _But I made sure you came back._

"I don't expect you to believe me, but I need you to give me one more chance."

 _A chance to tell you how I could be anything but the irredeemable vermin that life's circumstances have made me out to be._

She's not listening.

"Bonnie, _LISTEN TO ME!_ "

Everything rushes in.

Her rage... her pain...her grief, everything.

He doesn't even realize what he's doing until it's too late.

"S-sorry, I…"

He sees the emptiness in her eyes, his hand still throbbing from the sheer force of accidentally siphoning her power. "Oh my god I…I didn't mean to do that."

"But you did it anyway." Her gaze is determined now. "Because even if you're telling the truth...the old you is still inside you."

Her words come like a slap, a chokehold, a knife to the gut.

 _Bonnie_.

"Come on, the ascendant's this way."

It dawns on him that she's not really looking for the ascendant.

It was all just a hoax, staying back with him so that she could what? Test him? Kill him? Either seemed plausible, although the latter was the winning probability.

"The spell feels stronger. The ascendant must be around here somewhere."

"Why would the ascendant be here?" he implores, trying to grasp her thoughts.

"I don't know, I didn't put it here"

 _She's going to knock me out in….10 seconds, tops._

"If you don't think I'm capable of change why spend an entire day with me?" He already knows the answer but asks anyway, just to give her the benefit of the doubt. "And bring me out to the middle of nowhere…"

When she doesn't reply, he gives the situation a risky push.

"I could gut you all over again."

 _But I wouldn't._

"Your friends would never even hear you scream."

That gets her to turn around.

"Because maybe you're right."

He gazes at her in awe, can't believing how he missed it before _._

"Maybe deep down there's a part of me that believes there's a sliver of good in you"

 _You're lying._

 _You do this thing with your eyebrows when you lie. You're just priming me up for slaughter. How morbid._

"Then you'd be right"

Grinning, he walks past her and contemplates how he's going to dodge whatever weapon she was about to unleash on him.

Knowing her, it was probably a knife or dagger of some sorts.

"Bonnie, Bonnie. Always in the middle of it all...forced to see through the horrendous evil in everyone, just to see the smallest sliver of good. Living the life you do, I'd call you pathetic but you're no Elena, Bon." He turns to look at her. "It doesn't matter what someone did before or what they're going to do after. You see what's right in front of you."

"Enough with psychoanalysis, Kai." she grits out, her determination even stronger now.

 _Alright, Plan B._

"It's a shame, though, that your friends don't see it. After all the crap you put yourself through for them, you'd think they'd try and let you off the hook once in awhile. Like today, for example"

"I chose to come here myself, for Damon and Elena."

"Yeah, right."

He grabs a small branch off the ground, patting it against a tree bark to shake off the snow.

"One," he raises the stick in the air. "you just _majorly_ contradicted yourself in that statement." He examines the branch's pointy end. "Two, you hate me. And three, you only came because a certain douche of a vampire made you a tempting offer you just couldn't resist. My head on silver platter up for grabs, perhaps?"

Bonnie recoils and reaches around to the small of her back.

"You and me, we're the same. If you'd been the one to stab and leave me behind in 1994, the first thing I'd have done when I got out," he points the branch at her. "would've been to kill you"

He looks at her arm, already clutching the weapon behind herself. "Like you're about to now."

He tosses the branch.

"But the thing is, you could've done it any other day. You could've melted my face off, as you so nicely put it, at the rave a few days ago. You could've used your witchy-woo, done a locator spell, and just offed me in my sleep. But you didn't"

He walks over and places both hands on her shoulders.

Taking the opportunity, Bonnie swings out at him and goes for the kill.

He catches her arm just before it plunges into the left artery of his neck.

 _Knife, I knew it._

She doesn't give up so easily, pressing the knife down hard as they both struggle for control.

 _She's strong._

He barely manages to divert the tip of the blade as he pulls her in a little closer for leverage.

"I of all people should know how screwed up it can be, being overshadowed by people who don't really have your best interest at heart...and how sometimes all you seem to get is everything you don't deserve." Bonnie struggles in his hold, trying to pull herself back. "I agree you have every reason to want me dead but know this, I don't even think you're doing it for yourself, Bonnie. You haven't done anything for yourself in a long time. So excuse me if I put this bluntly," He flips her around, and locks her in a tight embrace, reminiscent of their encounter in the car in 1994.

"You're going to need more than a knife and the the seven rages of hell to get what you want and so deserve" he whispers. "You're going to have to," he coaxes the knife out of her hand. "fight harder"

He squeezes her arms together until she drops the knife involuntarily.

For a while, it's just them... the snow...and the sound of their labored breathing. Through their clothes, he feels the curve of her body pressed against his. They're so close, they can hear each others' rapid heartbeat as she stops struggling and stands still.

He revels in the sensation, clutching her a little tighter.

 _So warm._

 _I could stand this way forever._

When he feels her wince, he slowly eases his grip on her.

She spins around to face him, and her gaze moves to his lips.

 _I'd want to kiss me, too._

Their eyes meet.

Before he can say anything she's already on the ground, grabbing the knife faster than he can say her name.

She invokes a crucifying spell and has him on his knees within seconds.

"Alright, alright...I get it!" he yells, holding his temples. "I won't try to stop you. By all means." he looks up at her. "I'll stay on the ground. Just don't do that pain infliction thing".

The pain goes away.

He laughs. "See that wasn't so hard was it?"

"Shut up. I'm not falling for your antics anymore."

The knife's held at the base of his throat this time. He holds up his hands in part plea and part defence.

"You're right. I do hate you. I hate you more than its humanly possible to hate someone."

She presses the cold steel closer to his adam's apple. "I almost killed myself because of you!"

"But you didn't. Again, Bon, give yourself some credit. You're-"

"What," she says mockingly. "you're gonna tell me that I'm a good person again? Brave? All those lies you spoonfed me just so you could leave me for dead?" She laughs, eyes shining from oncoming tears. "Didn't work that time, and sure as hell won't now."

He lets out a sigh.

"You left me," her voice quavers. "Alone. Why go through all that effort to gain my trust if you were only going to stab me in the back? Oh, right, yeah I almost forgot. You're a sociopath. Things like that don't occur to you."

"Honestly-"

"You're incapable of feeling."

"Bonnie-"

"JUST SHUT UP!"

She's breathing hard, and the knife's made a small cut in his neck. Glimmers of his blood shine on its surface.

"Actually, I was going to say." he says, smiling sadly. "Stay strong, Bonnie Bennett."

She stares at him, silent.

"You've got a _long_ life ahead of you, trust me I checked, and its already filled with people who try to snuff you out like a candle." He imitates pinching a flame out. "But I meant what I said. You _are_ brave. You're also very stubborn, and if you could half as stubborn as you are with me with everyone else, you'll get through. You're plucky"

 _You won't just get through, you'll win. Like me._

"You…" she begins, but her voice falters. "It's all lies"

He grabs her wrists, a risky move, but this time he doesn't hurt her. She anticipates it but it doesn't come.

"Look me in the eye," he says quietly, looking directly at her. "And tell me that I'm not telling the truth."

Kai feels some of her anger dissipate and drops his hands.

He's completely oblivious to the thoughts running through the Bennett witch's mind as she stands frozen in time, reminded of the one person who ever saw her and loved her for who she was.

 _Stay strong Bonnie_ , Grams' voice echoes. _You are stronger than all of this._

The knife in her hand suddenly seems so foreign to her, as she tries to recall why she's holding it in the first place.

 _Because I wanted Kai dead._

She hears Grams' voice again.

 _What will this do for you, my child?_

 _It will make me happy,_ she thinks. _And he deserves it. It's not like I haven't done it before._

She holds the knife tighter again, pressing it to his neck shakily.

Grams asks again. _Is this really who you are?_

Bonnie holds back a choked sob as the tears blur her vision.

 _Please get out of my head._

Kai watches her internal struggle, not wanting to impart any disturbance.

But watching her be driven to tears is not something he can watch anymore. He looks down.

Bonnie hears Grams again _. You know that I love you, and that I'm proud of you Bonnie._ _But ask yourself if doing this will make you proud of who you are._

"No," she whispers as the knife slips from her fingers.

She closes her eyes, tears slipping from under her closed lids.

 _He may be a sociopathic piece of trash that I still hate with every fibre of my being but he's right: I'm not doing this for myself._

 _I am hurt._

 _And I can't lie to myself anymore, thinking he was always the problem._

She looks down at the knife and kicks it away, no longer finding the motivation for its use appealing.

 _Grams. I miss you_. _So much._

Kai rises, shaking the snow from his pants.

"Are you.." he begins

She stops his sentence with a single look.

Taking a deep and slightly shaky breath, she wipes her face with the back of her coat sleeves.

He gives her a moment to herself.

"I still hate you." she says, adjusting her pants. "I may not want to kill you anymore, but don't think for a second I won't change my mind" she grits out.

"But you hate me slightly less" he says cheekily.

Bonnie glares at him.

"Maybe. Actually, no. I hate you even more"

Kai, verging on ecstatic, holds out his hands. "Can I read your palms then?"

She looks at him incredulously,

 _Damn you, Kai Parker._

An hour later, Damon and Elena return with Lily Salvatore in tow, ready to leave 1903 when they hear Bonnie scream out for help. They rush to the source of the sound, already horrified by the possibility of seeing her cold dead body lying on the ground.

But that's not what they come across.

They see Bonnie on the ground, covered in mounds of snow, drenched to the bone and yelling seething insults to Kai, who seems to be laughing so hard he can barely stand. She yells "motus" at him, and he hits a tree.

When Bonnie sees the trio gawking in awe, she quickly gets up and brushes the snow off her coat, making a snow pile land on Kai's head with a flick of her wrist.

Damon looks at her in confusion.

The Bennett witch rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulders.

He doesn't ask questions. None of them do.

Kai, finally catching his breath and holding his sides, looks at them cheekily.

"Ready to go?" he quipps.

"Can't say I'm too pleased" Damon drawls.

 **End of flashback**

Present day

Caroline carries Bonnie into her home as Kai follows closely behind. She sets her down on the living room sofa and rushes to get a glass of water. The couple exchange looks that border between " _Imgoingtomurderyou_ " and " _weneedtotalkNOW_ ".

Caroline comes in with a full glass of water and gently places it in her friend's hands.

"Okay look, Bonnie, I need you to down that" she pushes the glass towards her encouragingly "and eat the leftover chicken parmesan I'm reheating for you right now, so we can get you on some painkillers. And don't say you need it. That blood you took from me was barely enough"

"Care, I'm fine. Don't forget that I used to be the Anchor." She takes a big sip. "This is nothing compared to having someone's death pass through me every minute."

Kai scoffs and the two girls both turn to look at him.

"Says the witch who just nearly died from using a spell that technically should never be done without channeling another power source." He points to himself.

"Wait what?" Caroline asks, whipping around to look at Bonnie. "Then why did you-"

"Because someone here," he begins. "thinks it's funny to ignore people for prolonged periods of time, for no reason, I might add; and just likes to go all out on super complicated spells to prove a point" His pseudo-mocking tone has a hard edge to it.

Bonnie stares at him indignantly.

Caroline looks back and forth between them, clearly sensing the tension. Before she can say anything else, Bonnie shakes her head and mouths _don't._

She slowly rises and walks into the kitchen, making sure to close the doors behind her.

Kai chuckles. "She sure knows how to take a hint."

"I wasn't ignoring you."

"Really?" He plops down on the armchair next to her. "Then what do you call, dodging my calls, stealing my copy of your house keys, not seeing me for an entire week exactly?"

Bonnie sighs _. Can't say I didn't miss you too._

"That's...something else, the keys. I lost my own copy and I was really busy on this case, I couldn't answer-"

"Bon, you really need to think of a better lying face. Cause this," he outlines her face with his fingers in the air. "I can see right through."

Her insides do a small flip.

"Plus, why would you need an extra copy," he says, pulling out two sets of keys from his coat pocket. "when you already have two in your key cabinet out front?" He dangles the keys from his ring finger, giving it a little shake.

 _Grr. Perceptive little shit._

She decides to switch tactics.

"Okay, honestly, I just needed the time alone. Your place isn't necessarily the ideal abode"

"We both know that's not true" he wags his eyebrows.

"But it's not like we need to be together all the time. I don't need you 24/7."

Her heart gives a little pang when she sees the hurt on his face, but it only lasts a millisecond before he slowly rises from the armchair and looms over her.

She looks up at him, wondering if now would be a good time to make use of his signature "invisigue" charm.

 _By the looks of it, yes._

He crouches down until they're face to face.

"Don't do that"

"Do what?"

"THAT" she takes a pillow and shoves it at him. "That weird puppy face you do while biting your lip, it's creepy and it's not working"

He holds the pillow under his chin. "Can't say it hasn't worked on you before" he says, giving her a small wink.

Bonnie rolls her eyes.

"Whatever. Point is, I do my job the way I want to. We both agreed that there is an 'us' sphere" she draws a circle going around the two of them. "and a private sphere" she circles her fingers in front of her. "And you're invading mine"

"Right." he tosses the pillow to the side. "Anyhoo. Why don't you tell me what you saw today then? It can't have been too pleasing"

"It wasn't"

Frowning, he reaches out for her hand but she quickly uses it to comb back her hair.

He gives her a scrutinizing look.

"Is this the same murderer that's been out on the town before?"

"Yes. No. I don't know."

"You didn't see anything?"

"I tried to but, the person…" she rests her chin in her hand.

He raises his eyebrows expectantly.

"They were blinding me. On purpose. I, I, tried to get a closer look..I thought maybe I just wasn't trying too hard and that I wasn't focusing right but then it just-"

"You could've died today"

She looks at him.

"No, I would have _not_. But that man did. And so did the eleven other people that had nothing to do with this mess"

"Rather them than you"

"Eleven people, Kai. Eleven, innocent people are DEAD because some sick freak is out there, thinking it's funny to send messages through corpses."

Kai's expression turns dark.

"You can't expect me to be fine with what you did today. You and I both know the risk"

"I didn't think there would be magic involved!"

After a quiet moment, she begins to laugh. "To think that I actually...thought, with the Heretics gone, and everyone just moving on with their lives," she takes a sip of water and nearly chokes on it. "that everything could be okay again, that we could have lives.."

She stands up too quickly, only to sway on her feet and fall against Kai's chest as he catches her just in time.

 _Shit, shit, shit._

Panicking, she pulls away from him a little.

 _Did he find out?_

"Bonnie" he whispers furiously. "I can't be strong. Not when it comes to you" he says, voice verging on shaky, as he holds her face in his hands.

"Kai," she needs him to understand, but he can't. "Please.."

His expression is pained, and he can't seem to look directly at her. "Please don't ever do that to me again"

She gazes at him, willing him to trust her as she clutches his coat lapels.

"I won't"

He takes a shaky breath and gently presses his lips to the top of her head.

"I promise" she says. "Not without you"

Kai pulls back her hair and she presses her lips to his.

She means for it to be short- quick, but he opens his mouth and she inhales, grabbing his hands as he laces his fingers through hers.

"Bonnie.."

 _She_ feels his urgency, the burning touch of his fingers as he strokes her jawline. The need to touch, to taste..it's too strong.

He tucks into the nape of her neck and gently bites the soft spot below her ear.

Bonnie gasps as he trails his hands up and under her shirt.

 _Please let Caroline's blood do it's magic for the time being...because I need this. I need him right now._

Caroline walks in. "Bonnie I have the chicken- _oh god_ "

She drops the cutlery on the floor, face turning red.

They break away from their embrace, Bonnie self consciously pulling down her shirt and Kai giving the blonde vampire a dirty look.

"Sorry, I-" she doesn't know where to look, trying to find the wallpaper patterns intriguing.

"What good is vampire hearing," Kai begins. "If you can't make use of it, blondie?"

"Well excuse me if I didn't think to anticipate a makeout session between you two after a traumatic experience at a _crime scene,"_ she says sarcastically.

"Actually, we-"

Bonnie slaps him on the arm.

"Ow…" he winces, rubbing the spot grudgingly.

"Is he taking advantage of your weakened state? Caroline asks, turning to her friend.

Kai looks at the two of them in disbelief.

"Unbelievable. Why am I always the villain at the center of every problem?"

Caroline gives him a sweet smile. "Because you are the villain at the center of every problem?"

Bonnie steps in between them, taking the plate of food from Caroline with a _thank you_ and turning around to face Kai.

"Get some forks, and eat this with me"

He gives her a wry look and goes to the kitchen.

Caroline moves out of his way, glaring at him as he goes. She turns to her friend.

"I don't know what you see in him"

"Other than his devastatingly good looks and charm? Me neither."

The two laugh and settle on the couch, making themselves comfortable.

Caroline starts to go on about her and Stefan's plans for spring break, and reminds Bonnie of the upcoming masquerade ball and their plans to wear matching dresses.

 _I know something's coming for me, for all of us,_ Bonnie thinks. _But when they do, I'll be ready._

She takes out her cellphone, and finds the contact she's looking for. Abby flashes on screen. Caroline notices and asks her to put away her phone while she's talking cause its super rude. She hastily types in " _Need to see U. Explain later. B._ ", and hits send.

Kai walks in with forks, some cups and a half open bottle of port.

"Guess what I found?" he asks in a sing songy voice.

She smiles at him.

 _Because I have him, and he has me._

As Caroline and Kai bicker over who gets to have the mug of their choosing, Bonnie takes a bite of the chicken and watches the two with a lingering sense of contentment.

 _It's not like anyone's stopped us before._

* * *

 **End too soon?**

 **Wish Caroline hadn't cockblocked the Bonkai kiss?**

 **Review with your thoughts :)**

Trivia: Hannah is one of Kai's dead siblings.


	3. Sodales

**Thank you all for the lovely reviews!**

 **I apologize for taking so long to update, hopefully chapter 4 won't take as long as this one. I'm trying out a new format for the flashbacks, let me know if it helps, or if it's just confusing.**

 **Anywho, enjoy and please review.**

 **[extended author notes & trivia at the end]**

* * *

11:50 AM May 18th, 2015 (One month after 6x17)

The Salvatore Boarding House is a mess of boxes, textiles, and flowers; all in preparation for Jo and Alaric's last minute wedding as Bonnie and Caroline run themselves ragged trying to fix the day's mishaps.

"I said WHITE lillies, not pink! And I specifically asked for tulle, _not_ chiffon. God, have you people ever organized a wedding before?"

Caroline storms down the hall as a terrified florist trails behind, making timid remarks about certain flowers being out of season.

First it was the wedding planner that went down with the flu, and now it's the flower arrangements. If they didn't count the luck with the last minute reception venue, it seems that every little detail of the wedding has been falling apart since morning. It was sheer luck that the caterer didn't die of pneumonia or that Jo's wedding dress survived without a scathe; otherwise a certain blonde step-in planner would've most likely popped an integral artery by now.

Bonnie's on the phone with Matt, advising him to pick medium starch for the suit shirts when she bumps into a young florist. Judging by her red eyes and blotchy face, she'd most likely been the recent victim of her friend's scary ultimatums. Offering the girl a small hug, she hangs up and walks over to a frustrated Caroline who's viciously rubbing her temples.

"Care," She grabs her friend by the arms. "Breathe. You're making everyone break down in tears."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just that I _really_ want this to be a perfect wedding, and I've been _so_ MIA and everything's such a mess-"

"Jo already loves her dress and the caterer just confirmed. Matt said he's already checked off the shirts and he said something about chairs as well..?"

Caroline heaves a sigh of relief as Bonnie soothingly rubs her arms up and down "Everything will be fine, we're making progress."

She calms down for a split second before starting up again. "But our dresses! They're still at the seamstresses! And did you even prepare your speech?"

Bonnie sighs. _Well, I tried._

"Yeah, I got something. It was a little last minute, but I got it."

Caroline looks back in awe. "How are you so calm? I'm positively losing my mind here."

"It helps-" She's cut off by the front door slamming shut.

"Hello?" A chirpy, male voice calls out.

Caroline closes her eyes and incites a small prayer. I _don't need to snap Kai's head two days before his sister's wedding. I_ _DON'T need to snap Kai's head two days before his sister's wedding._ Too late; her mind's already bombarded by mental images of his face as it gets clawed out by her freshly manicured nails.

Kai strolls in - _wait, is he skipping?-_ with a small brown bag and a take-away coffee cup. It smells heavenly.

"Bagels?" He gives the bag a little shake.

"What are you doing here?" they snap simultaneously.

He puts down his cup and carefully reaches into the bag to retrieve a brown sugar bagel. "I can't be a part of my sissy's wedding plans?" he asks before biting into his treat.

Caroline makes a frustrated little noise before storming away. "I'm gonna go give Elena a call, see if she's having any luck at the seamstresses!" she yells over her shoulder.

Kai watches her leave, chewing thoughtfully. "Is she always like that?"

"No. Yes. Why are you here?" Bonnie crosses her arms.

"Thought you could use a little hangover remedy." He holds out the bag but she ignores it. "I offered Jo the same thing and some weird herbs that're supposed to help but all that did was just make her vomit. Excessively, I might add." He fake gags.

They'd thrown Jo her bachelorette party last night with all the wine they could possibly order from the town's small liquor store. Liv had decided to show up miraculously last minute and as a _I'msorryIhaven'tbeenaround_ gift, she'd brought a funny magical brew that got you drunk with no effect on the pregnancy. Everyone except Bonnie had gotten pretty wasted and even then it was still nowhere nearly as wild as the bachelor party, sans the hard liquor. That hadn't stopped the bride-to-be from overindulging on witchy alcohol despite multiple heated protests and then passing out on the couch -not the floor, _thank god_. She was currently cursing her past self and recovering in bed while the rest of them downed bloody marys and got to work.

"Like you care. You and I both know that whatever concern you display, it's not real."

"Ouch. Is it so hard for you to actually believe I could be a decent person?" he takes a sip of his coffee. "But you do have a point. I needed an excuse to see you."

Bonnie looks at the ceiling to avoid his imploring gaze. "Well, news flash. I don't want to see you, the sight of you is already making me nauseous, and guess what, the feeling isn't going away anytime soon."

He rolls his eyes. "Pessimist. I take it you didn't like my cool presents either."

"Sorry Kai, but cookies on my doorstep isn't going to cut it." She makes them sound like roaches. "And good job by the way, 'cause I hate gingersnaps."

Ever since they'd gotten back from 1903, she'd opened her door each morning to find a neatly wrapped box of cookies sitting on her doormat. The card on it always said "Kai" in black felt marker and she'd known something was up when she saw the iced sad faces - who frosted gingersnaps, really? Her first encounter with the spooked pastries didn't go very well - she had no way of knowing that when she touched them they would start bouncing around and making tiny noises that sounded like laughter.

Most of that batch ended up being strewn across the driveway.

After the initial freak out, their strange physical properties began to spark her interest - it wasn't every day she received magically charmed edibles. When she did finally sample some on a busy morning, they tasted almost as good as the ones Grams used to make.

But she wasn't about to go telling him that.

"Is that why you practically stuffed your face this morning?" His expression is smug as he takes a big bite of his bagel to illustrate his point.

Wait, how did he - _of course_. She clears her throat and makes a mental note to do a cloaking spell on her home. And get some curtains for extra measure. "Very funny. Add 'stalker' to your long list of irredeemable qualities . You can never have too many."

He narrows his eyes but appreciates the biting humor. As much as his tongue was absolutely tickling to give back a seething response, watching her react to his silence was even more amusing.

Bonnie fidgets and wonders if he's lost his taste for mindless chatter when Stefan and Damon's murmurs are heard coming up the stairs. A few moments later, they walk in with forlorn looks on their faces.

"Bonnie do you-" Damon stops when he sees Kai on his couch. "Oh, great. You."

"Damon," he replies, giving the older Salvatore a once-over. "Can't say you're a sight for sore eyes."

They exchange silent _fuckyous_ , neither have much to say to the other.

"So, Bon-bon," Damon starts. "Lily's in a fair amount of pain right now, and she's at a decently drained state. Just to speed things up a bit, why don't we have you play around in her head, hm? If you don't mind."

"It was his genius idea." Stefan adds, casting Bonnie an apologetic look. He also sneaks a glance over at Kai. The two witches in the room were the ones that travelled to a prison world to retrieve a Ripper just so Stefan could get his humanity back. It was an understatement to say he at least owed them a stress-free 48 hours before the wedding.

"Uh, more like bad idea?" Kai says, licking his fingers. "Even I wouldn't want to be inside Mama Salvatore's head right now." He scrunches the brown bag into a ball and throws it over his shoulder.

"No one's asking YOU, big brother."

"Damon," Bonnie cuts in. "Can't this wait until after the wedding? Everyone's got a lot on their plate right now."

Stefan nods in agreement. "That's what I told him."

The older Salvatore drags Bonnie and Stefan to the side. "Alright, look you two. Stefan, first of all, stop giving the psychopath in the room any leverage just cause the two of you got drunk that one night and had a faux brotherly heart-to-heart. I promised Elena that we'd take the cure after the wedding and if mommy dearest is still in Ripper mode by then, I won't be able to deal with her anymore and Stefan here," he claps his brother on the shoulder. " gets the lovely task of overseeing her 'progress'. It's just way better for everyone to get this over with now."

Kai laughs. "So basically everyone's just gonna drop what they're doing because... you say so." Bonnie has _don't start_ written all over her face as he shrugs. "Correct me if I'm wrong."

Damon sneers. "Did we include you in this conversation? What's it to you?"

Kai briefly glances in Bonnie's direction. "Not much, and I honestly couldn't care less. But in return for welcoming me so _graciously_ into your home, how about I do the head picking?"

The offer lingers in the air as the Salvatore brothers contemplate, and Bonnie scrutinizes. Neither of them are able to get a clear grasp of his intentions.

"Fine." Damon agrees. "But if you try so much as _one stupid_ move, I'll rip your head off."

Bonnie is slightly taken aback by the lack of persuasion on Kai's part. She expected a more elaborate pros and cons discussion with the level of trust they had, which was essentially none to below zero. But then again, if there was one thing Kai was good at, it was most likely mind games and torture. Damon's main concern was a safe, Ripper Lily-free human future with Elena, and he didn't care who he had to ask to get it done.

They're distracted by a loud thump and a small _oof_ that follows as Caroline flurries in with a giant box of flowers. She pauses suspiciously in the doorway. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing that concerns you, blondie." Damon says dismissively. "Actually, do you mind clearing out your little minions for a couple of hours? We kinda need to do something."

"Uh, no?!" Caroline retorts as she hugs the box tighter. "Do you have any idea what I had to do to get these 'minions' on short notice? No. No way."

"Fine. Keep them in an isolated part of the house and don't let them out of your sight." Damon nudges his brother in her direction. "Stefan'll help you. "

Caroline doesn't seem too keen on the idea, but she waits for Stefan to join her anyway. The pink elephant in the room is hard to ignore as they leave in uncomfortable silence.

Kai observes them from behind. "You've truly outdone yourself Damon, " he clicks his tongue. "more so than usual."

The older Salvatore grunts. "Just shut up and follow."

They head down to the cellar where Lily's being kept as Bonnie cautiously makes her way to the heavy wooden door and peers through. A haggard-looking Lily sits in a chair in the far corner, face gaunt and skin waxy.

Kai looks over her shoulder and lets out a low whistle. "Is that what a decaying vampire looks like?" he turns to Bonnie. "cause _gross_."

"How do you wanna do this?" she asks, determined to make this work and get it over with. "You just work your magic and we stand back and watch?"

"About that." Kai looks down. "Small complication. I'm out of practice with the whole 'get inside your head' game, so I was hoping we could do it together. Or I could practice on you first." He looks at her, pressing his lips together and fidgeting slightly.

"No way in hell," she grits out.

"Bonnie, we don't need him." Damon says, looking at Kai. "You, get serious or get lost."

"Well, there's always this other option." Kai confesses.

Damon groans. "And what, pray tell, is the _other_ option?"

"Channeling." He cocks his head to the side. "Maybe you've heard of it before?"

Bonnie recalls her encounter with Luka from a few years back.

"I thought you could only suck magic out of people," she says grimly. "Its hard to believe that _any_ transaction with you could be an equal give and take."

"Well honestly, I've never tried it before. But I've been meaning to practice." He smiles at her expectantly.

" _You can't_."

There's a low creak and the thump of emerging footsteps as Lily's pasty, sullen face appears through the cell window. The shadows obscure most of her face, but even in the dark, her eyes exude contempt as her gaze lands on Bonnie.

"Channelling is for _legitimate_ witches," she says hoarsely, grabbing hold of the metal bars. "Siphoning overshadows any attempt to channel; a second source, alive or dead, will obliterate and give out before a combined power can even begin to manifest."

Maybe its her imagination but Bonnie thinks she sees the lights flicker.

Kai gently nudges her aside and comes face to face with the dessicating vampire. "Nice try, Mrs Salvatore, but I have my own magic now. I don't really need to siphon anyone unless… I just feel like being a dick."

Lily continues as if she hasn't heard him. "You Parkers have withheld a long tradition of the twin merge ceremony. It seems that you've never had to channel with a living person," Her bloodshot eyes shakily focus on Bonnie. "seeing as how you kept yourselves isolated with your barbaric practices and upturned noses."

Kai nods in response. "Mm, I won't deny any of that. Blame my father, though, he's the snobby, paranoid one." He looks around her cell curiously.

"Siphoners in your coven are outcasts, that's all they'll ever be known as. Don't fool yourself into thinking you'll be any different." There's a harsh rasp to her voice. "I know too well what happens to witches like you."

"You don't say?" Kai laughs and narrows his eyes in thought. "Now, let's see. I merged with my younger brother Luke, and then I got my twin sister's magic, with her loving consent, of course." He throws Bonnie a side glance, and leans his frame against the stone wall. "So not only do I have the power of two other Gemini witches in me - I also happen to be the newly elected leader of said coven."

"As fascinating as this conversation is, can we get to the point already?" Damon deadpans.

Lily looks out into space. "There will always be an imbalance in you, Malachai."

Kai stiffens at the mention of his full name.

Lily turns to him, eyes leery. "You've been meaning to practice, you say?" She laughs quietly. "They haven't told you of what happens to those who try to channel with someone like you?"

A dry lump forms in Bonnie's throat as a long silence follows.

The air grows heavy.

Lily's hand suddenly reaches out between the bars - Bonnie recoils before they can wrap around her throat.

"Let him do it and see what happens. Maybe it'll work." Her thin lips break into a bitter smile as her right arm dangles over the grilles. "Although, I clearly remember in Malcolm's case, his dear friend quite literally snapped apart, starting from the hands." She slowly rotates her palm. "You can't imagine the amount of torn flesh, it's gruesome."

The irises of her eyes turn dark, as veins begin slithering their way down her cheeks. "Even my vampire blood was of no help."

Bonnie forgets to breathe as Lily's face presses into the bars, gazing at her. "In the end, he was simply unable to endure the excruciating pain of being undone by one of nature's loopholes. _An abomination_."

One of the flickering bulbs explode into fragments.

Her outstretched wrist _snaps_ , and contorts into an ugly sinks to the ground, mouth open in a silent scream

Damon lunges for Kai and grabs him by his coat. "What the hell are you doing?"

He smirks at the vampire. "Guess I'm not as out of practice as I thought."

Damon lets go reluctantly as Lily starts hyperventilating and making shrill cries for help. Inside the cell, her right arm convulses as she looks at her fingers spread wide open in terror. The look on Kai's face borders on ecstatic and furious as his lips move in inaudible whispers - each incantation wrings a new scream out of her. Damon's jaws are clenched and his features are hard but he makes no move to stop him. Several screams later she is toppling over, clutching her body as if it is tearing itself apart.

Bonnie watches Kai's expression and realizes she'd seen it before, countless times on the faces of her friends as they tore into fleshy, human necks or when they snapped whole bodies in half without flinching.

 _Bloodlust._

She turns around and makes a run for it. Her breathing comes in short, shallow pulses as she ascends up the stairs as fast as she can; away from Lily, away from Kai and the whole situation. She reaches the living room and ambles towards the front door and swings it open only to have the wind knock the breath out of her.

It's raining.

Swearing, she slams the door shut, slumps to the ground and hugs her knees to her chest. Faint footsteps approach and she knows who it is without looking up.

"Bonnie."

She summons a paperweight from a nearby table and propels it towards him. "Motus!"

Kai catches it. He examines the paperweight and lightly throws it back and forth between his hands.

"Catch."

The paperweight flies across and freezes - right before it hits her temple. Bonnie lets it drop with a hollow _clunk_.

"Anything you do to me," he takes a step in her direction. "I'll be able to give you a taste of as well."

She raises her chin and wills herself not to shake so much. "Is that a threat?"

"Just a reassurance." His eyes give away too much in that half-second.

She doesn't process it until it hits her, hard - the inferiority complex he tried to conceal but couldn't quite erase. Pain becomes so transparent on his face - so _raw_ , that she has to look away.

All the things that had been confided in her on Thanksgiving day, it hadn't been lies after all - he'd been telling the truth. He was hurting, or rather, he had been hurting all this time. She looks up and sees -really _sees_ , everything playing across his face like a film.

And here she was, thinking that the maniacal psychopath wasn't exactly the _Ifeelhumanemotions_ type.

"Phasmatos superous em animi. _"_ It was a risky move but she had to catch him off guard and see that he wasn't feigning any of it. She trusted her gut instincts when it came to strangers, and she wasn't about to give up the habit now, especially when she'd already been stabbed in the back once before.

Kai gets flung - not as gracefully as one would expect - towards the couch but he lands on the table instead. His expression suggests he was completely caught off guard by her spell, but he doesn't look as pissed as Bonnie expects. Wincing, his hands press against the wood as he lifts himself off the slightly cracked table. "Was that really necessary?"

The emotions - still there. With an addition of pain.

"So it does have feelings."

"Excuse me?" He mouths a small _ouch_ as he rubs his back, a little unsteady on his feet.

Bonnie gives a satisfied smirk. "That's all I needed to know."

The front door suddenly opens from behind and slams her forward. The impact draws a loud _oof_ out of her as Elena's dismayed voice cries out. "Bonnie! I AM SO SORRY, I didn't know- I,"

She gives Elena a pained smile and assures her that she's okay but _man_ \- her back hurts.

Kai's guffaws come rolling in like clockwork.

" _Oh Bon_.." he can't say any further as his face turns pink with laughter. She swears there are tears pooling in his eyes.

"Karma's a bitch, isn't it?" he asks, straightening himself and pressing his lips together.

"Shut up." The sting in her back subsides slightly.

Elena's expression is part confused and annoyed as she picks up the scattered clothing compartments by the hooks. "Uh...so I have the dresses.."

One of the hangers is in a slightly different shade of color than the rest.

"This one is yours, you should try it on right now," Elena hands her the odd one out and gives her a serious look. "and see if it fits. I'll go find Caroline."

"Oh that won't be necessary." Kai adds. "It's a six." He shoots Elena a _no duh_. "It'll fit."

Bonnie takes the dress compartment and drapes it over her left forearm. "You should leave. There's gonna be a lot of half-nudity around here and unless you want to add pervert to your already lengthy list, be decent for once and go."

"On my way out." He glances at the table again. "Give the Salvatores my condolences, for the table."

Bonnie rolls her eyes at his sarcasm and holds the door open. "Out."

He saunters over and pauses under the doorframe. His gaze travels down her body. "Pick you up at seven?"

"Thanks, but I'd rather walk."

She shuts the door behind him and leans against the mahogany and takes a deep, albeit shaky breath.

"What was that about?" Elena asks.

"I...I don't know."

She really doesn't.

Watching Kai Parker, her attempted murderer of two occasions go from big brother to psychopath, to actual human being had given her whiplash.

The creepy encounter with Lily was also bothering her more than it should - there was something about her small conversation with Kai that she couldn't exactly put her finger on, but either way, her provokement had worked.

But nevermind all that.

She had a wedding to prepare for, a dress to try on and a Caroline to save from spontaneous combustion.

Damon walks in, going on about his mother and Kai's idiocy as he gives Elena a kiss. Before he can ask anything else of her, Bonnie quickly retreats into a nearby bathroom to change.

As she hangs up the dress and pulls down the zipper of the compartment she has a fleeting thought: _How did he know what size I was?_

"Stalker," she mumbles.

6.30PM May 20th, 2015

There's only an hour left to go before everyone is due at their seats and the music begins.

Jo finishes off her blush with a few, final strokes and puts the brush down.

The chiming ring of her cellphone alerts her to 'Alaric' flashing on screen.

She picks up the call with a smile. "If you're trying to organize a rendezvous-"

"Don't worry, I'm not." Alaric says on the other line. "I just need help with my vows."

She indulges him in a joke and smiles at her reflection in the mirror.

"You know, this place is crawling with Gemini. Who knew there were so many of you?"

His tone of voice suggests that he hasn't been social with the 'Gemini' he was referring to. _It's understandable_ , she thinks. The Gemini Coven wasn't exactly the friendly small talk kind, not unless they deemed the other conversing party to be a worthy individual.

"Some of them don't even look human," he adds hesitantly. Jo ponders his observation and wonders how many coven members had decided to show up tonight. Hopefully none too many. Besides, the only people that fit his description were their distant relatives from Maine, father's side.

"You haven't seen my dad, have you?" It'd been a long time since she'd made any contact with him, but she wasn't exactly feeling much guilt over the fact. It was always 'coven duty calls' for him. Kai had already offered to walk her down the aisle, and her father's absence would be a welcome relief at this point.

"No I haven't. But should he be?"

 _Yes_.

"No, not really. He's no longer the official leader of the coven anymore. If anything he'll come just to see me get married."

On the other end, Alaric is silent.

For the sake of reassuring her husband, she humours him about her father's absence, and jokingly adds that he's a really good gift giver. In actuality, for most of her childhood the gifts she (and Kai) had gotten for big holidays and birthdays were limited to heavy, dust-laden books with complicated spells in them. They were great, just not for someone who didn't have the ability to practice magic of his own. She remembers each birthday, and how she'd tried her best to offer some comfort to her twin, who stopped caring altogether after his 14th year.

 _It was insensitive of dad to rub Kai's magical disability in his face when we were both still so young. But that's in the past now._

She ends the call with a sweet goodbye.

In the mirror's reflection, Joshua's shadowed silhouette appears behind her and she turns around.

"Maybe I should just, uh, leave my gift and go, then?"

"Dad. What are you doing back here?"

For once, she'd be lying if she said that she's wasn't relieved at the prospect of having him miss an important family event. With Kai in attendance, the reunion wasn't going to be a warm one.

"You're my daughter."

 _Whom you tried to kill_.

As her father awkwardly tries to propose that he be the one to walk her down the aisle, she tries to think of a way to make a proposition of her own. "If I didn't at least ask to walk you down the aisle...I couldn't live with myself." he finally says.

 _But you could live with trying to kill me. The death of four of your children. Turning a blind eye to my twin's psychosis for 20 years. You could live with not helping your children cope with their mother's death._

None of the memories are happy nostalgias.

"Dad…" she begins. "I'm...glad, you came. And I'm happy you asked."

His eyes fill with hope as he waits for her answer.

"I'd be honored to have you walk with me. But you have to promise me one thing."

"Anything for you, Josette."

"Leave him alone tonight."

His brows knot in confusion- and then he gets who she's referring to.

"Jo…"

Of course. How naive of her to think he'd actually be open to her request, such a simple one really, but he's never been one to take advice from anyone but himself.

"Don't forget that Kai was the one responsible for Joey..Gaby, Tomas...Hannah... _your mothe-_ " his voice breaks. "If he tries anything that would bring harm to you-"

"He won't." she whispers. "Not unless you try to."

" _Josette-_ "

"Father, _please_. Just tonight. Let him be."

Joshua's brows furrow and he folds his hands behind his back. There's a short silence before he finally exhales.

"Alright. If that is what you want."

She smiles - and turns around to reapply her lipstick. When he doesn't leave her to herself, she pauses and looks at him. "Is there anything else?"

There's a hint of guilt in his eyes as he returns her gaze. "The Lyncis..will be joining us tonight. Some of the older members thought it appropriate to have them here." There's an uncertain edge to his voice.

Jo drops her lipstick and spins around. " _Father._ Why did you invite them?"

"It wasn't my call." he clears his throat, and she knows that he's not telling her the whole truth. "You know how they can be with these things."

She sighs and pinches her nose bridge. Just when she'd finally felt some of her headache fade, it threatens to come crashing back in.

"In the event that you decide to have a family," he adds. "It is customary for them to know and bless _any_ addition to the Parker lineage. You know that."

Anger flashes briefly in her chest, at his emphasis on that word. Single children born to the Parker family were seen as spare parts, perishable and unimportant. Twins...were another story. She knew better than anyone. It was the reason why as soon as this wedding was over, Alaric and her had to leave for somewhere far away where no one would find them.

It was no question of who would help them run and who would drag them back to be inspected by the Lyncis. Her father would fall into the latter. The one person whom she could see helping was…

"I'm not part of the coven anymore. I'm Josette Laughlin." she says calmly. "And you lost any right to call me a Parker the day you tried to kill me."

She picks up her lipstick and resumes primping. As far as she was concerned, the conversation was over.

Her father gets a hint and slowly backs away.

"I'll see you at the altar, Jo."

He leaves quietly.

7:35 PM May 20th, 2015

Bonnie wasn't one to panic in situations like these, but a wedding, especially Jo and Alaric's wedding, seemed like a plausible event to panic over. The best man couldn't just go _missing_ moments before the vows were about to be exchanged.

The moisture on her upper lip tickles and sweat beads roll down her open back.

 _Where the hell was Damon?_

She leans back and whispers to Caroline. "Where. Is. _He_."

"I have no idea."

Bonnie tugs on her dress, fumbling with the elaborate bouquet as she does another full sweep of the room. She successfully avoids eye-locking with any of the Gemini Coven members or their strangely evasive-looking plus ones but she can't help but stare at Kai, who's dressed head to toe in black and looking even more intimidating than usual. He's seated between his father and Liv, who both wear anxious expressions on their faces. To say he stuck out like a sore thumb would've been an understatement.

Those aware of his antics would probably say that he'd dressed for a funeral instead of a wedding but then again, Liv's mostly in black as well. Looking closely, Bonnie starts to see the resemblance between the three for the first time, although it was pretty ironic how Kai looked more like his father than any of his other siblings.

She jolts out if her thoughts when the "I do" sets off a round of applause and the guests all rise in their respective seats. The newlyweds exchange kisses and Alaric briefly shoots them a questioning look, mouthing _Damon_.

Bonnie shrugs her shoulders and she faintly hears Elena whisper, "I'm going to kill him" behind her.

 _If only it were so easy._

Jo and Alaric step off the podium and make their way down down the aisle as the guests cheer. Bonnie's about to follow them when she sees Stefan on the other side of the room. He awkwardly looks between her and Caroline.

 _Oh, crap_.

With all the worrying over her speech and Damon's disappearance, she suddenly realizes the predicament she's in, frozen in her spot as the music flows through the distant speakers. Walking alone without her escort would've been fine, if it weren't for the burning stares of all the guests. The sinking feeling in her stomach is reminiscent of high school prom.

 _No escort then, no escort now._

Straightening her back, she braves a smile and follows the bride and groom.

Just when she feels like she's going to combust under the scrutinizing stares of the Gemini Coven, an arm suddenly links through hers and holds it in a tight position. Sweet relief washes over her.

"Oh my _god_ \- Damon, where were-" When she looks to her right, it isn't Damon's arms holding hers. It's Kai's.

She drops her bouquet and tries to jerk her arm away. "Let go."

He bends down to pick up the flowers and places them in her hands as he flashes a cocky smile to the guests. He drags her forward.

She forcefully tries to pull back her forearm again but he locks her entire arm between his torso and bicep. "Save your writhing around for later?"

"Like hell," she mutters.

Everyone's definitely staring now. Even Jo turns around to look.

Bonnie has no choice but to weakly attempt her best smile and relax her right arm. She gives a small thumbs up to the bride and they continue walking.

"I'm only doing this for Jo," they both say simultaneously.

Bonnie glances at him and scoffs. "Yeah right. You're getting some sick enjoyment out of this."

"Of course I am."

"Was this your plan all along?"

"Damon, no. Making you maid of honor, maybe." he admits.

She nearly trips on the hem of her gown.

"'Cause let's be honest you look way better in that dress than Elena."

Bonnie absorbs the information with mild dread and confusion.

"Oh don't make that face, Bon. Of course I talked to Jo beforehand. Nicely." He winks.

The end of the aisle seems a million miles away as Caroline calls out after them. "Guys, watch out for the doves."

"That makes no sense - " Bonnie whispers. "Why would _you_ ,"

"You know what doesn't make any sense? These shirts," he tugs on his his tie to loosen it a little. "are way too pressed, who was in charge of these?"

"Answer me."

Kai pretends to wave to a random guest, who doesn't return the gesture. "Rude.." he huffs.

As soon as they reach the middle of the aisle, a flock of white doves fly out from two sides of the room. Some of the guests _ooh_ and _ah_ over the display, while the rest (mostly the Gemini coven members) simply look on in nonchalance. Alaric and Jo laugh as the doves coo and fly around them in a perfectly synchronized halo. Bonnie catches Liv's index finger making slow, tiny circles as she watches with a smile on her face.

One dove lands on Bonnie's head. It's small legs tickle her scalp and make her break out in goosebumps

"Look, Cinderella!" Kai says, pointing at her head. "Wait, was it Snow White or Cinderella that was an animal whisperer?"

He picks the dove up gently, and nestles it in between his cupped palms. He breathes a small 'hi' to it.

Caroline mutters something about animal abuse behind them but even Bonnie has to admit, the dove looked pretty content in his hands.

The small white bird flutters its wings, and coos.

Right before exploding in blood with a small _pop._

Bonnie's eyes go wide as blood spatters over the front of her dress. The flowers slip from her fingers.

Kai looks at his hands, covered in chunks of flesh and hot, sticky blood.

Jo screams.

The remaining birds make urgent, shrieking noises and scatter into frenzied attempts to leave the barn. One by one they blow into pieces as red and white feathers fill the room.

Guests scream and hurtle towards the door, but they all do so in vain as everyone falls back from the invisible wall of magic that is now surrounding the entire barn. Tyler cries out Liv's name as her body goes limp and falls from the chair, blood gushing out her nostrils.

The barns fills with the heady scent of blood and dark magic.

Joshua yells an order to his coven as he eyes Kai furiously.

" _Malachai!_ What have you done?" He rushes towards his son but suddenly stops - his expression goes slack.

Several members of the coven look around the barn, to the ceiling and to the sides, as if in anticipation for something.

Then the front door unhinges with a dull _creak_ \- and drops to the ground to reveal Lily and six other strangers behind her.

Bonnie knows right away that they're not human, nor are they witches or vampires. Something else...she feels it. They're dressed in aged attire except Lily, and they all look partly desiccated and grey.

Then it all starts to fall together, Lily, Kai, the Gemini Coven...all of it.

They were Siphoners. Like him.

Jo and Alaric stand frozen in their spots, smeared in wet patches of blood as the intruders step inside the barn.

"We offer our condolences for ruining your marriage ceremony, Josette Parker." Lily says slowly. "But I'm afraid my dear friends over here," she gestures to the other six. "have some unfinished business with your coven." She looks through the crowd and her gaze lands on Joshua. Her lips curve upwards into an ugly grimace as the rest all break into smiles - revealing their sharp, unmistakably vampire teeth.

Chandeliers drop from the ceiling and guttering cries and screams ring out from all directions.

Everything goes dark.

* * *

The heady, metallic scent of blood fills Bonnie's nostrils as she jolts awake to the sound of chanting.

" _Espiritus paratis...espiritus paratis…espiritus...paratis…_ "

Her eyes flicker open and she coughs from inhaling bits of debris from the floor. There's a sharp pain in her left thigh when she tries to get up, and she feels something like a stick under her back.

From the corner of her vision, she sees the Gemini Coven in a uniform stance, fusing their power on a subduing spell.

Her gaze travels to the right to see Kai knocked out beside her. Looking further down, she realizes it's not a stick but his arm that's under her back. Half of his face is covered in blood, some of it already drying on his lashes. There is no one around to help them.

Anger flashes hot and heavy in the pit of her stomach. Despite the pain, her eyes search around for Jo and Alaric.

 _Lillian Salvatore. Six vampire-witches._

The sting in her thigh burns as she tries with all her might to get up.

 _Why does this always happen to us?_

Tears squeeze their way out of her eyes as she clenches her teeth and wills herself to stand. But she can barely lift her torso from the ground.

 _Bonnie. Get up. You need to help your friends._

The chanting from the nearby coven grows louder, their magic growing more potent. But she feels the strange magic from the six intruders overpowering them- and she knows that if she doesn't get up, _right now_ , the roof was going to crush them into the ground and they were all going to die.

Her gaze lands on Kai again.

 _You, at least you...get up. Show me that you're worth another chance. Prove me wrong this time._

She didn't fight that hard for her life only to have it be stripped from her again - except unlike the other times, there was no way she could come back from this. This wasn't a prison world. There was no Other Side she could possibly return from.

Kai's arm jerks under her, and he coughs noisily.

 _Help me._

His eyes flip open and for the first time, she's glad to see the rage in them.

9.30 AM May 21st 2015

Liv wakes up to the sound of the heart monitor beeping its steady rhythm.

Through a hazy blur she sees Tyler dozing off by her bedside. He jolts awake when she moves her arm.

"Tyler…"

"Liv. You're up." The ghost of a sleepless night lingers in the dark circles under his eyes.

"How long have I been here? Where's Jo? Dad? Is she okay, where are the-"

"She's okay, Liv. She's safe. Alaric and her are already on their way to Portland, your dad said something about cloaking them or something."

"The Hereti-"

"Gone. For now."

Liv ponders the information and slowly lies back. The last thing she remembers is the look on her father's face as he suddenly tensed up next to her. At first, she'd thought it was because of Kai's spontaneous stepping in for Damon, or the fact that she was using magic in the presence of the _Lyncis_ but he'd turned around and in a second, madness.

There are hazy images in the back of her head, of pain & blood, of a strange group of people staring her down as she lay bleeding.

"Tyler- what happened? After..." she touches a hand to her neck, now bandaged in gauze.

"After you got bit by one of them?" Tyler says, his jaws clenching. The look of contempt in his eyes is hard to ignore as he breathes heavily.

The Heretics...the term they now used after the incident, had learned to use their powers well - all with a burning motivation that was unstoppable. The vampires couldn't keep up. Not even Tyler could manage to put up a fair fight.

Liv recalls everything up to the point where she got bit and blacked out. Her father and the coven; all of whom were already heavily battered and lay bleeding across the floor by the time they came to, were powerless and immobile thanks to one of the big chandeliers falling directly on them.

There were only a few witches well enough to hold up a defense and that didn't include the members of the Lyncis Coven, who came disguised as their plus ones. It wasn't like them to stay back to help anyone that didn't share their bloodline. Her chest tightens with anger but she has to remind herself not to judge - after all, was their coven any different?

"Ty- it's okay. I'm here now."

"You wouldn't have been. If it weren't for..." He hesitates. "Your brother."

"My brother. Kai?" She asks incredulously.

The look on Tyler's face cues her in.

"It was Kai, wasn't it?" she whispers.

They both look at each other for a moment, neither ready to admit the memory of what happened.

After the chandeliers fell from the ceiling, Caroline & Stefan had vamped Jo and Alaric out of the barn, and two Heretics had given chase. That still left four of them, including Lily. Kai and Bonnie were out cold, and Elena had left to look for Damon. Tyler and Matt had been the only ones left.

One of the Heretics, a tall brooding male had charged towards Bonnie with only one purpose ; and Liv, despite already being affected by the spell that acidified the blood of the birds, stepped in to throw him off using her magic. But unbeknownst to her, another one was already at her back and ready to siphon her - which was exactly what she did while the tall one plunged his teeth into her neck. Her father had called out for her and a moment later, she felt the teeth and the hands around her neck get dragged away. She never got a chance to see who her saviour was.

"He, uh, he...kind of saved your ass." Tyler laughs softly, looking down. "Didn't know he had it in him to be an actual human being."

Tyler relives the memory of watching his most hated person in the world rip the heart out his ex-girlfriend's killer. It wasn't exactly the normal case situation for forgiveness, but through that act alone he'd changed his mind about Kai completely.

Liv wants to say something in response but she stays quiet. There was a light headedness in her head still and she didn't really feel like talking about Kai - nor was she ready for it.

"I can't believe they're actually real. The Heretics. I only ever used to hear stories of them when I was young."

Her attempt to change the subject passes over Tyler as his eyes widen, in recollection of an important memory.

"Liv. There was something, I don't know how, but something...weird that happened, too."

"What happened..?"

"After Care took your sister out, I told Matt to get you out. Everyone else was trying to fight them, the Heretics and I...I saw Bonnie reach out for Kai and he reached back to her, and they sort of...I don't know, set off an explosion?"

Her eyebrows go up. "Explosion, like fire?"

"No, I don't know… It was more like. Things just started swirling around them, oh and your coven stopped whatever spell they were doing and they just kept watching the two of them and...your dad, he looked really freaked out.." He scratches his head. "The Heretics just bolted, too. Without a word, although I'm sure Lily said something…"

"You're getting off the point. What was happening exactly?"

"I couldn't get a better look. One crazy Heretic chick had me immobilized. It almost looked like a bit of lightning struck them or something, and you know, a small explosion and…"

Liv's brows furrow in confusion and Tyler gives up. "You know what, I don't know what I'm talking about. It's just- I thought you should know, 'cause I think your dad's making a big deal out of it."

He reaches out to press the nurse dial button and hopes that it wasn't too late get Liv's breakfast in.

"Oh my god…" Liv suddenly says, staring off into space. There's a hard edge to her eyes. "I…I can't believe it"

"Believe what."

" _Superus sortis_. I didn't think- oh my god." She buries her face in her hands. Tyler reaches out for her but she starts to laugh - a hollow humourless sound.

"Liv. What?"

" _Sodales_. The energy of the constellation, that's what they were telling me...that night, of the wedding."

Tyler doesn't even hide his exasperation. "You do know that I'm not used to your language, right? English would be great."

She turns to look directly at him.

"Sodales. Karmic companions, bound by the celestial energies of the Lynx... It's what they used to explain every single marriage that's taken place within the great covens since their creation ; it's what's bound my mother and father together even when they were from opposing houses. I always knew the Bennetts were close but I had no idea…" she closes her eyes.

"Karmic...like soulmates? I didn't know you guys still believed in that."

When she opens her eyes, Tyler goes silent.

"My dad, he's _never_ going to let this go...we're all going to get dragged into this. This is just the beginning." Her eyes glaze over. "Hell, the only reason I could ever see a future with you was because I was gonna take the easy route out, like Jo did. Even she can't escape this now." She rakes her hair back with both hands. "I don't even know anymore, I just - I need to talk to Jo. Where's my phone?"

"You want to call her right now? That's probably not the best idea."

"Why not?"

"Because Kai's the one taking them to Portland as we speak. With Bonnie. They left as soon as they got their wounds treated. That was kinda why I brought that up…" Liv's eyes widen."..and what I meant when I said father was making a deal out of this...thing."

"Mother of…" she raises her eyes to the ceiling. "Shit. Are you sure they said Portland?"

"Uh, pretty sure. Why?"

Liv contemplates trying to explain, but she slumps back onto the pillow instead.

It was way too early for this.

* * *

8AM November 5th, 2016 { _PRESENT DAY_ }

 _~Beauty I'd always missed with these eyes before...just what the truth is, I can't say anymore...~_

Bonnie drums her fingers to the music as she finishes the last of her tea and looks out the window. A light breeze makes the curtains billow slightly, and she smiles at the abandoned plastic pumpkin basket rolling around on her driveway. Someone's kid must've forgotten it, she thinks. A lot of people had moved back to Mystic Falls early this fall,and they'd definitely had more trick-or-treaters compared to last year. She thinks about the Sheriff's youngest, Tressa, who had just turned six in September. All giggles and smiles with no idea of the dangers of the world.

Caroline, Matt, Elena, Jeremy...they'd all been born and raised in this small town and despite everything they'd been through, they turned out okay. Almost.

Looking at their lives now, she feels a dull twist in her chest as she thinks about Tressa and her own...

"Baby," she whispers.

A heavy wind rolls in and she breathes in deeply, before closing the window shut. She takes a seat at the counter and gazes into the bottom of her mug.

It was a good thing Kai stocked up on his earl grey, or else she'd have had to explain why she wouldn't be taking her coffee this morning. She didn't even know what kind of stuff you weren't supposed to eat or drink when you were expecting. All she got on the first simple Google searches was 'caffeine', and a lot of other things she wasn't ready to start thinking about.

Kai walks in, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What is that?"

She takes in his messy hair and sweatpants. "My music. You got a problem with it?"

 _Good, he hasn't showered yet._

She purposely woke up a bit earlier this morning to avoid leaving the house with him in tow.

He holds up his hands in defense. "Oh, no no. I was actually going to ask you to crank it up a bit. Appropriate choice, though, Moody Blues." He laughs. "Get it?"

She rolls her eyes, but gives a small smile, and turns the volume up on the kitchen speakers.

 _~Yes, I love you...oh, how I love you...~_

"Mhm." He steals the toast from her plate.

She sighs and slides the jam over to him. "Here. They were out of blackberry."

"I'm fine with this," he says with his mouth full. "Off to see Dennis today?"

She nods, taking her empty mug to the sink. "Jake's missing as well, so that's another search party on top of the one we already have." Water rushes through the faucet. "Tyler and Liv are doing Mystic Falls this weekend, so I'm heading to Whitmore."

"Huh. I thought Livypoo was taking Whitmore." He pours himself some coffee.

She swallows. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Uh, you told me?" He swivels his index finger at the base of his temple while she isn't looking.

Bonnie contemplates taking the _you-and-your-shit-memory_ route but hesitates; there was no playing around with Kai and his near-stellar memory, damn it.

"Caroline's getting in touch with WPD as we speak and you know, we just work better together. No offense to your sister or anything." She turns the tap off and leans on the counter, looking at him. "And I'm taking your car, so you can take mine for today and tomorrow."

Kai grumbles. "Not like I have a choice."

She quirks her eyebrows. "Well, a deal's a deal. Since you broke _my_ car, last time."

The guilt trip hits him hard. "Fine," he wipes the crumbs of his mouth.

Bonnie takes her jacket and bag from the chair and makes her way to the front door as Kai leans against the doorframe. "Forgetting something?"

She turns around and absently reaches into her pocket and sighs. "Give it." she says, motioning with her hands.

He grins and holds up her phone between his index and middle finger.

"Catch."

She grabs it in midair and heads out the door.

Once safely inside the car, she lets out a shaky breath and undoes the transfiguration charm on her bag. " _Revelare_."

She digs around and retrieves a piece of folded up paper, frayed and worn at the edges. It had taken days of searching and perusing around in Emily and Grams' grimoires to find this particular spell, and even having found it, the worst wasn't over. It didn't look like a simple spell.

She starts the engine and backs out of the driveway.

Five minutes into the drive, she notices how silent the neighborhood is due to the glum weather. Most of her neighbours would be sleeping in at this time, and wouldn't be up until a few hours later.

The houses start getting fewer and fewer as she drives past the Mystic Falls border.

She cracks open the car window a bit and lets the cool breeze blow over her face. For a while it's just her, the wind and the barren trees.

There'd been a clear reason why her body could no longer handle _assumere munus_ anymore. According to coven traditions, _assumere munus,_ or better known as assuming an identity, was a ritual to be done in larger groups. The only reason Kai and her could pull it off, with just the two of them, was due to their karmic link.

The very first time she'd done it, it had been with Liv and Kai's help - even Jo had walked them through it in advance. She remembers how difficult it was at first, and how gradually getting the hang of it was a slow process.

A powerful spell like it had proved invaluable in Mystic Falls law enforcement, especially when supernaturals kept being ruled out of recent cases. Within a month of meeting Sheriff Dennis Gaines through Matt, they'd all become his go to amateur consultants. Still, she'd never went and did the spell alone without harnessing Kai's magic, until last week. It was careless of her to go through with it and expect him not to find out.

 _He always knew._

Thirty minutes later, she arrives at her destination in the woods. The hiking trail is sealed off as usual, and she turns off the engine. Bag in hand, she gets out of the car and carefully makes her way past the trail leading deeper into the forest.

Dried leaves crunch under her feet and the distant chirps of pigeons are heard. A shiver goes through her as she cinches her jacket tight.

 _Could've taken a scarf if I wasn't in such a hurry._

While walking, she opens the paper and skims through the spell, mouthing the verses in her head.

Despite the chilly weather she can't help but feel at ease knowing that she would be at the clearing soon enough. This was her safe haven, the place she went to whenever she needed to practice some natural magic and channel power from the earth. No one, not even Kai, knew about it's existence and she planned to keep it that way.

The clearing becomes visible a short distance away and she quickens her pace. She approaches its edge and drops her bag on the ground. Her favorite spot under the old oak tree is exactly how she left it, a few herbs scattered around and a bag of salt tied to to the bark of the tree. She unties the bag and pours some salt into her cupped palm.

The spell didn't require a protective circle but it was a double measure to ensure some peace of mind, to know that no external force would bother her during her the ritual.

After creating a neat, albeit small circle using the salt, she steps inside and sits herself comfortably at its centre.

Thunder booms above and Bonnie curses.

 _Of all days, just don't let it rain for the next hour at least._

She closes her eyes and begins the pre-spell meditation - it was her favorite part of the whole process.

The meditation takes a solid ten minutes, and once in a partially blank state of mind, she begins the incantation.

"Phesmatos...intuito.. entro...victus…" her voice quavers as she feels the ground start to pulse beneath her.

 _It's working_.

"Terzo occhio...suolo…" A strong bump nudges her from below and she shifts slightly in her spot.

"Ricevero...intuito…" She feels slivers of magic pop and crackle against the invisible wall of the circle.

She waits in still silence.

After the incantation, the spell had instructed her to stay in neutral state and wait for the answer. When nothing happens after a few minutes, she decides to try again.

"Ricevero _intuito_ …" Her tongue emphasizes the activation phrase.

Just when she contemplates taking another peek at the spell, she feels it - a low thrumming in her chest as the ground below her begins to sway. Like thick mud, it sucks her in lower and lower until she feels like she's encapsulated in a cocoon.

"Revelare!"

Claustrophobia hadn't been a problem before but when her magic doesn't respond, she starts to panic a little.

When she cracks open an eye, everything's dark.

A low _thump, thump, thump_ begins to resound in the dark space. It goes on without a pause, rhythmically.

Bonnie doesn't know what to do, and she decides to feel around for something, anything. All that does is make her even unsteadier, as if she's stuck in a bottomless void.

" _Revelare_!"

No sooner have the words rolled off her tongue, the air grows heavy and her lungs desperately seek out more oxygen. Its like she's drowning, but slower.

 _This is bad._

She envisions the earth under, solid and strong, as she wills her magic to reel back and return to her control.

The air gradually begins to dilute and the light of day shines over her shut lids. Her tensed body relaxes and she gratefully breathes in the fresh air from the woods.

When she opens her eyes, she's within her circle. Safe.

Only, standing in front of her is the black smoky silhoutte of a person.

The figure looms over her head and the cold, slithering tendrils of its aura clasp on to her arms.

She feels it enter her body and she can't breathe as her chest _convulses._

All of her senses fade and she collapses unto the earth.

A foggy voice whispers " _femina_ "...

...and she sees the brief, blurry image of a young girl with a face resembling her own...

...but instead of her brown eyes, they are a striking, familiar blue.

* * *

 **Okay, I'll admit it.**

 **The first draft of this chapter was wholly different than the final one^, and I blame that on my fixation with the Gemini Coven. I've always had this nagging feeling that there was more to them than they let on in the show, and exploring that in my writing was just so much fun. Most of the missing Bonkai segments from the first draft will be included in the next chapter, and I will warn you that there will be more flashbacks in the next few chapters.**

 **Also, this story has officially shifted from a Bonkai child origin story to something a little darker, and unfortunately, it's going to be a while until the baby arrives. But the journey will be...an interesting one.**

 **That's all I'll say for now.**

 **Special thanks to moonxstar for beta-ing, you are awesome beyond words. ILY! **

**Trivia**

 **a). The four deceased Parker children are Gabrielle, Joseph, Hannelore and Tomas.**

 **b). The Lyncis Coven is a close ally of the Geminis, known for their affinities in divination and telepathy. The power of the coven is harnessed through the constellation of the Lynx, symbolized by the Lynx tiger/cat who sees through walls and darkness (read more on Lynx constellation mythology here:** **.ca/~** **)**

 **c). The song Bonnie's listening to in the kitchen is Nights In White Satin by Moody Blues. I just happened to be listening to it as I was writing this chapter and decided to include it. Great mood song, feel free to listen to it while reading the chapter!**

 **Spells & Charms**

 ** _Phasmatos superous em animi_ \- another variation of Motus, used by Kai on the show. **

**_Espirimus paratis_ \- a subduing spell, used by Oscar. **

**_Superus sortis -_ divine prophecy**

 ** _Sodales -_ soulmates**

 ** _Revelare -_ reveal/return **

**_Phesmatos intuito entro victus -_ insight into a life (look into oneself)**

 ** _Terzo occhio suolo -_ the Earth's third eye**

 ** _Ricevero intuito -_ receive insight**


End file.
